USA > Illinois > Kane County > History of Kane County, Ill. Volume I > Part 50
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SEWERS.
Since the water works have been installed the city has from time to time put in a sewer system until, at the present writing ( 1908) the city has over fifty miles of sewers paid for by the property owners under the special assessment plan.
ELECTRIC STREET LIGHTING.
Aurora claims to be the first city in the world to have its streets lighted by electricity. In the spring of 1881 the city made a contract with the Aurora Electric Light and Power Company for sixteen two thousand-candle power lamps at six thousand dollars a year for five years. The lamps were placed on elevated towers about one hundred and sixty feet high, made of gas pipe. At the expiration of this contract. in 1886, the city installed an electric lighting
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plant of its own, securing power from the city pumping station, up the river, and so far as is known has the record of having the first municipally owned electric street lighting plant in the world. After twenty-two years of service it is at this writing pronounced very satisfactory. The lamps have been lowered to fifteen or twenty feet above the street crossings, which gives better service than on high towers.
In 1907, after being in use twenty-six years, the city electrician describes the system as follows :
"The municipal electric light system is composed of eight independent fifty-nine-arc light circuits, all controlled from a central switch board and energized by a three hundred and fifty kilowatt generator direct connected to a four hundred and fifty horsepower cross compound condensing Ball engine, located at the city water station. The steam for this plant is supplied from the same battery of boilers which supply the pumping engines and the plant is operated jointly with the water works, a division of total plant expense exclusive of labor being made on a basis of one-third cost to the lighting depart- ment, and two-thirds cost to the water department.
"The above system is practically new, having been in satisfactory opera- tion since the latter part of 1906. and as it now stands will compare favorably with any municipal lighting plant in the country.
"Equipment-The lighting system is equipped as follows: Four hundred long burning arc lamps ( of which three hundred and eighty-four are now in operation), one fifty-light transformer and five multiple arc lamps in Lincoln park, one four hundred and fifty horsepower cross compound condensing Ball engine with Dean condenser direct, connected to a Westinghouse Electric Company three hundred and fifty-kilowatt generator, one exacting generator, one Westinghouse ten-horsepower engine driving a ten-kilowatt generator for lighting the pumping plant, one hundred and one miles number six weather proof wire, nine thousand feet number six single conductor and nine hundred feet of number six double conductor, lead covered, high tension cables, in Chicago Telephone Company conduits, four one hundred-light Westinghouse Electric Company transformers, eight fifty-light regulators and one fully equipped five-panel switch board.
"The operating cost for the year was fifteen thousand, eighty-eight dol- lars and seventy-six cents, or thirty-nine dollars and thirty cents per lamp."
The same report thus describes the fire alarm and police telegraph system :
"The fire and police telegraph system consists of two independent police circuits operating respectively on the east and west sides of the river, three fire circuits (two of which are on the east side and one on the west side) and one house circuit operating the tower bell, all of which are energized by a three hundred and twenty-five cell storage battery and controlled by a Game- well automatic switch board.
"The transmitter enables the police desk sergeant to send in an alarm from his desk upon receipt of a telephone message. The repeater automatically transmits alarms from one circuit to the other."
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PARKS.
Lincoln Park .- When the original plat of Aurora was laid out, in 1835, by Samuel McCarty, he set aside one block for a public park. This is now known as Lincoln park. It is located between Main and New York streets, East Park place and West Park place.
McKinley Park .- Located on North Lake street, and extending to River street, between Vine street and West Park avenue, was donated to the city for park purposes by Roswell Wilder, about 1839. It was christened McKinley park after the death of President Mckinley. An effort has been made to change the name to "Wilder park." in honor of the doner, which may be done hereafter.
Phillips Park .- When Travis Phillips, former mayor of Aurora, died. in 1897, he left a will making several bequests and instructing his executor, Eugene B. Mix, to use the remainder of his estate in the purchase of some land and to donate the same to the city for park purposes. In 1899 Mr. Mix presented to the city council a deed for sixty acres of land in the southeast part of the city for a park. This land he bought of H. H. Evans at four hundred dollars an acre, and the purchase carried with it a proviso that the street railway, in which Mr. Evans was then interested, should continue to run to the park for a term of years. The place had been previously used for park purposes in hopes of inducing travel on that line of the street railway. The city accepted the donation and made some improvements on the park. In 1905 park commissioners were appointed, under the state law, who built a house for the custodian and made other improvements, as fast as the funds at their disposal would permit. In 1908 the park commissioners were J. R. Schmahl, E. C. Beaupre, and N. M. Hutchison.
GENERAL SUMMARY.
To sum up the public improvements of the city in the year 1908: It had a water works system valued at over two hundred thousand dollars, with over fifty-eight miles of water mains, furnishing the purest water to four thousand five hundred water takers, five hundred fire hydrants, all without any tax on the city. It also had over fifty miles of sewers, ninety-two miles of streets, twenty-three and one-half miles of street paving, eighty-five miles of brick or cement sidewalk, mostly cement; an excellent paid fire department, with five hose houses and a high water pressure in all parts of the city : a fine police department, a good municipal street lighting system, an electric fire alarm system. all this the work of the city government. These, taken in connection with an excellent public school system with ample school buildings, it was claimed, made Aurora a good place for residence-one hard to be equaled for its size and age, the world over.
HOSPITALS.
Aurora City Hospital was opened in 1886. It received its first financial boost from a bazar given in the old skating rink at the corner of Lincoln
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avenue and Main street, in which nearly all churches and societies in the city joined, and several thousand dollars were raised. A "benefit" was again given the institution in 1888 in the reconstructed city mills. The Woman's Club gave another bazar in 1905 in the coliseum on the island, realizing a profit of over ten thousand dollars. Several legacies have also been received. The hospital has been enlarged and improved as fast as its finances would permit. It received one thousand. five hundred dollars a year from the city until the St. Charles Hospital was opened in 1900, when that sum was divided between the two institutions.
St. Charles' Hospital was opened by the Catholic denomination in 1900. The large brick house, on North Fourth street, built by Philo Carpenter, and afterwards occupied by Mrs. Coulter. was bought in 1900, and at once trans- formed into a hospital. In 1902 a large annex was built at a cost of about fifty thousand dollars, a large portion of which remained as a debt on the institution in 1908. Several bazars have been given for its benefit.
EXCITEMENT OVER THE SLAVERY QUESTION.
Charles T. Douglas, writing from San Diego, California, to the semi-cen- tennial celebration of the First Congregational church, in 1888, gives some interesting reminiscences, from which we quote :
"It was in that old church that Salmon P. Chase made one of his famous republican speeches, while Douglas and Lincoln were running for the senate. Frederick Douglass twice pleaded the cause of the oppressed within its walls. John P. Hale. Rev. John Grass, Ichabod Goodwin and other noted anti-slavery speakers found its doors open to them. Many will remember the exciting day when Stephen A. and Frederick Douglass were both advertised to address the citizens of Aurora-the one in reply to the other. It was after the passage of the "Missouri Compromise Act." and Stephen A. was attempting to justify himself before his enraged and outraged constituency for introducing and advocating the passage of that infamous law. Frederick had heard that he was to address the citizens of Aurora and determined to follow in reply. The train from the south brought Stephen A .. but his condition was such that it required the assistance of two strong men to walk into the Aurora- now Tremont house. Frederick had arrived earlier on the eastern train, and was so unwell that the physicians, the late Dr. Hard and some one else -- positively forbade him to speak at all. When it was announced that neither was able to speak, the vast throng, including some from distant states, who had gathered to hear Frederick's reply to Stephen A., were greatly disap- pointed. The turbulent mass insisted that Frederick should at least show himself. Soon the cry went up 'to the church! to the church!' The doctors had consented that Frederick might speak in the church a few moments. Away rushed the crowd up the hill, and in less time than I have taken to write it. the church was filled to overflowing, and crowds gathered at the windows. Frederick was brought in and laid down on the pulpit sofa to rest a minute. Little hump-back Beeman, son of Dr. Beeman, of New York, sat in a chair at the end of the sofa behind the pulpit. It was
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suggested that while Frederick was resting someone on the opposite side should address the people in Stephen A.'s place. A lawyer by the name of Poindexter introduced an orator from Ohio by the name of Chapman, better known as 'Crow, Chapman, crow.' When Chapman attempted to justify and defend the Missouri compromise, the excitement became so great that cries of 'Put him out,' 'Lynch him,' etc., were heard from all parts of the house. Judge Parks, who, with Poindexter, had assisted Stephen A. into the hotel, was sitting about half way down the north aisle. He sprang to his feet, and, striding down to the front shouted, 'By the gods you shall hear him.' and turning he pointed his finger at Beeman, and said in tones of withering scorn, 'That little pickaninny'-but he got no further; for like lightning, Beeman sprang over the pulpit and clutched Parks by the throat. Everybody was on their feet, women screamed in terror ;- a rush, and Parks went out of the window head foremost. Strong arms stood Beeman on the communion table in front of the altar, and there with hands on his hips, chest heaving with intense excitement, and eyes gleaming with fire, he stood until he could get his breath, and then burst forth in such a flood of burning eloquence in denunciation of the slave power and its truculent followers, as only a naturally eloquent man, speaking under the stimulant of such an epithet and in such a cause, could give utterance to. He was followed by Frederick in a half hour's speech, which those who heard can never forget."
HOW GENERAL FARNSWORTH BECAME AN ABOLITIONIST.
In the same letter from which the foregoing is quoted, Mr. Charles L. Douglas says: "It is related that some years previous to this, General Farns- worth objected to these anti-slavery meetings being held in our church. At one of them he undertook to create a disturbance while Frederick Douglass was speaking. asking, 'What of it?' etc. Frederick at length turned upon him, saying, 'What of it? Suppose they should take your wife-she is white, to be sure-and sell her to be the mistress of some treacherous villain?' The general replied that he would not stand that. 'But that is just what they do,' said Frederick, and put some other questions to him touching family ties, etc. At the close of the meeting General Farnsworth apologized, saying that he had clone wrong in interrupting him, and was wrong. From that time forward he was an abolitionist." The general was afterwards a gallant soldier in the war, which resulted in abolishing slavery. and still later he championed the cause of freedom in many a contest in the halls of congress.
TIIE FIRST CITY ELECTION.
The first city election in Aurora was held March 4, 1857, when B. F. Hall, democrat, was elected over E. R. Allen, republican. The victorious democracy celebrated their victory with fireworks and a big parade. Owing to the bridges being swept away by the flood, the celebration must have been a one-sided affair.
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RIVALRIES.
Whenever a stream passes through a village or small city there is gen- erally a rivalry of some sort between the inhabitants of the two sides of the stream. This rivalry, for some reason, was particularly intense at an early day in Aurora. This was primarily due to the location of the postoffice, which would change its location from one side of the river to the other with every presidential election. Samuel McCarty acted as postmaster for "McCarty's Mills," as the place was called, from 1834 to 1837. when Burr Winton was appointed regular postmaster of Aurora, at which time he moved the postoffice to the east side. This change in location continued regularly every four years until it was settled in by Russel C. Mix. who first moved it to the west side and later built a small frame building on the land belonging to J. G. Stolp on the island which bears his name. And there it has remained ever since, to the apparent satisfaction of every one.
This rivalry was intensified shortly after the railroad was built from Aurora to Turner's Junction. A charter had been granted by the legislature for an extension of the Aurora branch from Aurora to Mendota. Boston capitalists had bought up some of the railroad stock and were to furnish the money to extend the road toward the west. Then came up the question, "Where should the depot be located?" Charles Hoyt. Silas Reynolds and several other residents west of the river, who had subscribed for quite a large quantity of stock for those days, thought they were entitled to some consid- eration on that account, and planned to have the track cross the river above the dam, have the depot on the west side, and thereby make West Aurora the big town. The eastsiders heard about this, and took steps to change the program. Ben Hackney went to Boston, then headquarters for the road, and bought a number of shares of stock as O. T. Shedd tells the story, and coming back persuaded the engineer to place the grade of the roadbed so low that it could not cross the river above the dam, and it therefore became necessary to have the track go down on the east side and cross the river below the town. This raised such a storm of protest that the managers of the road promised to build as good a depot on the west side as there was on the east side, which was done, and for many years the depots on each side of the river were alike, but west side people never forgave the eastsiders for outwitting them in this way. It is said that "Charles Hoyt was so mad that he sold all his railroad stock."
The rivalry continued, and Stolp's island became neutral ground, where all the public buildings were located. including the city buildings, the old Young Men's Christian Association, Memorial hall. postoffice building, the old public library, at the rear of Memorial hall, and finally the Carnegie public library, after more than a year's effort on the part of the library board to find a satisfactory location on either side of the river.
To avoid strife over political matters, it had become an unwritten law that mayors of the city should be selected first from one side of the river and then from the other side. This has been the practice ever since the city was organized, with one exception. In 1865 Dr. Young was elected to succeed himself. Even the Woman's Club selects its president from alternate sides of the river annually.
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THE GREAT FLOOD.
On February 7, 1857. occurred the great flood. from which many local events are dated. A local paper, published that week, says the ground had been covered with snow over a foot deep for sixty days, with the ground frozen hard. On the 5th it began to rain and continued to do so most of the time until Saturday, the 7th. That morning, people living on the flats awoke to find their houses surrounded by water. They escaped to places of safety as fast as possible. The railroad bridge blocked the ice, and the water set back all over Stolp's island. Suddenly a gorge two miles up the river gave way and water and ice came down in irresistible foaming fury, sweeping everything before it. "Crash, crash, crash, went the three bridges within a minute of each other." Twenty small houses were swept down the stream, one containing a woman and her babe, who passed safely over the Mont- gomery dam and were rescued some distance below. A child, which floated down the river on a cake of ice was rescued at Aurora. Among the other losses in Aurora were Stolp's barn with three hundred bushels of grain, machinery, etc., dye house, one hundred cords of wood, bulk head, etc. His loss was estimated at over four thousand dollars. Fyfe's Eagle mills, on the island, Hyde's sawmill, Reedy & Merrill's sash factory. Woodworth brothers' addition to the factory, bridges, dams, etc. The "Guardian" placed the loss at thirty thousand eight hundred and twenty-five dollars, and the "Beacon" at one hundred thousand dollars.
Pictures of the flood, taken by D. C. Pratt, are given elsewhere.
WHEN J. M. WALKER WAS MAYOR.
A well authenticated story is told that when James Walker was elected mayor, he was disgusted with a number of the aldermen, who had been elected at the same time, and when he took his seat and made the list of stand- ing committees he said : "Gentlemen of the council, here is a list of the standing committees for the ensuing year. They are very poor committees, but it is the best I could do with the material at hand!"
In 1907 Mr. Walker celebrated his fiftieth anniversary of his connection with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, nearly all of which time he spent as foreman of the great blacksmith shop, better known as "Walker's shop." On the date of the celebration the manager of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy presented Mr. Walker with a fine gold watch and chain.
ONE OF HOPKINS' EARLY LAW CASES.
It is not now an easy matter for a young lawyer to establish a profitable practice in his chosen profession, and in old times, it is claimed, the old lawyers looked with less favor upon an aspiring young attorney than in later years.
One of the first cases which the writer hereof was called upon to report for a newspaper in Aurora illustrates this proposition, as well as the fighting qualities which made A. J. Hopkins a success in both law and politics.
BIRDSEYE VIEW OF AURORA FROM THE STEEPLE OF THE FIRST M. E. CHURCII.
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EAGLE MILLS
FLOOD, AURORA, 1857.
KANE COUNTY HISTORY
.A boy who had worked for a wagonmaker on Downer place and was unable to collect his pay. employed Hopkins to collect the amount due him, which was fourteen dollars. It was one of Hopkins' first cases. . 1. E. Searles, an old lawyer, was on the other side, and was disposed to treat the young attorney rather contemptuously. The trial came before Esquire C. H. Adams, whose office was in the little old frame postoffice building on the island. A jury of six men was agreed upon and the trial began. Searles was unusually severe, and when the trial was adjourned for dinner Hopkins told Searles that he must stop treating him in the way he had been doing or he would give him a thrashing. It appears that during the noon hour Searles armed himself with a pistol, and when the case was again called, so far forgot himself as to repeat his contemptuous language about his opponent. He had not proceeded far when Hopkins struck him on the side of the head with his bare fist and knocked him half way across the building. Searles picked him- self up and pulled a pistol from his pocket and was proceeding tremblingly toward his opponent. when W. P. West, one of the jurymen seized his hand and took the pistol away. Thereupon the plaintiff in the case struck Searles twice on the head, inflicting wounds from which the blood flowed freely. After quiet was restored Esquire Adams said, "Take that man out and wash him up." Someone sponged the blood from Mr. Searles' face and the esquire said. "Now let the case proceed." Mr. Searles was not in condition to make an effective plea, and Hopkins asked the jury for a verdict of fourteen dollars for his client, which was given.
RAILROAD HISTORY.
CHICAGO, BURLINGTON & QUINCY RAILROAD.
Aurora is essentially a railroad town, and is now something of a railroad center. It may not be generally known that the great Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad received its start in Aurora. Such, however, is the case. and this is the way it happened.
The Galena & Chicago Union Railroad was chartered in 1836, which had been built and was in operation in 1848, when Hon. L. D. Brady was a member of the legislature. In that year he secured a charter for the "Aurora Branch Railroad Company," to run from Aurora and connect with the Galena & Chicago Railroad at the most desirable point, which happened to be Turner Junction, now West Chicago. The Aurora Branch Railroad was commenced in 1850 and was finished in 1851, thirteen miles. . A. C. Gibson and Benjamin Hackney, with others, were named in the charter as directors for the new road. and Stephen F. Gale, of Chicago, was the first president. Mr. Harmon, in his history of Aurora says: "Considerable difficulty was experienced in nego- tiating the bonds, which job was undertaken by B. Hackney, who was then acting superintendent and principal stockholder. Frink & Gale, of Chicago. and Brady. Hackney and others, of Aurora, had to endorse them, thus becom- ing personally responsible before they were taken. John Arnat of Elmira. New York, took the first ten thousand dollars worth of bonds, and
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Rufus H. King, of Albany, took forty thousand dollars worth. Bonds were taken at par by the Buffalo & Niagara Railroad for a quantity of second hand flat rails, thought to be sufficient to finish the road. The road cost in all, with an engine, two passenger and twelve freight cars, about one hundred thousand dollars.
"The flat rails thus purchased were just enough to complete the line without any allowance for switches, sidetracks, and turning around, so addi- tional iron was bought of the Michigan Central Railroad.
"On June 22, 1852, the charter of the Aurora Branch Railroad was amended and the road was empowered to build to Mendota, forty-six miles. while the name of the road was changed to the 'Chicago & Aurora Railroad Company,' and it began to operate this extension in the fall of 1853. In 1855 the name of the road was again changed to the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy. and on July 9. 1856, the latter company was consolidated with the Central Military Tract Company, chartered February 15. 1851. which had built the road from Mendota to Galesburg, eighty miles, and opened it for traffic in 1855.
"In the meantime some far seeing gentleman from Boston came here to buy up the original stock of the Aurora Branch Railroad. Some was bought at par, some at a slight advance, but two or three held on to their stock until the system was purchased by J. J. Hill, about 1900, and realized not less than forty times the original outlay. This increase was made from time to time as new roads were purchased in the form of 'stock dividends,' some- times called 'watered stock.' The profits of the Bostonians, who bought most of this stock, can only be imagined. In 1860 the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy became the owner, by purchase under a foreclosure sale, of the North- ern Cross Railroad from Galesburg to Quincy, which had been opened in 1856, the name of which was changed to the 'Quincy & Chicago Railroad' in 1857. In 1863 it also bought the Peoria & Oquaka Road from Peoria through Galesburg to Burlington. This road had been operated since 1855. and made a direct line from Chicago to Burlington as early as March I of that year, and to Quincy the year following.
"During all these years the through trains ran from Burlington through Aurora by way of Turner Junction to Chicago over the Galena & Chicago Road. Amos T. Hall, of Aurora, who was treasurer for the Chicago, Burling- ton & Quincy, attended the annual meetings of stockholders in Boston year after year and urged the construction of a direct line from Aurora to Chicago, owing to the excessive charges made by the Galena & Chicago line, but not until 1864 did he get the consent of the company to construct a new direct line. The history of the great Burlington system, outside its immediate con- nection with Aurora, does not properly belong in a history of Aurora, but the road, having its earliest inception here, will always be looked upon by Aurora people as the offspring of the town.
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